Purity test
Purity Test refers to the proposed ten point list to determine whether Republican candidates adhere to the party line and can thus be endorsed by the Republican National Committee. Evidence of the increasingly un-American ideological fanatacism of the G.O.P., candidates must support eight of the ten points on the list in order to be endorsed by the party. The list, which emphasizes the demand for reduced government while simultaneously demanding more of the great historical engine of government growth: war, is the extrusion of Indiana RNC member James Bopp Jr. Post Vietnam War American conservatism has never good at recognizing that actions today have consequences tomorrow. Inevitably, the list also includes the Christian Right's anxiety knobs: sexuality and reproduction. The litmus test reads as follows: : 1) We support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus” bill; : 2) We support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run healthcare; : 3) We support market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation; : 4) We support workers’ right to secret ballot by opposing card check; : 5) We support legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants; : 6) We support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges; : 7) We support containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat; : 8) We support retention of the Defense of Marriage Act; : 9) We support protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing, denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and : 10) We support the right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership That the proposal was leaked reflects the serious divivisons in the party leadership. According to Florida RNC member and secretary Sharon Day: “Whoever leaked it should be ashamed of themselves; it’s a party dialogue and a thought process,” said Day. “It’s very unfortunate that someone found it necessary to leak it, and I don’t think any of the individuals involved were pleased with that.” Anxious to help the increasingly isolated Republicans appear more mainstream, CNN's Joe Johns interviewed Bopp with softball questions on Friday morning November 27, 2009. The interviewer ended the encounter by assuring viewers that the Bopp Purity Test was comparable to the "Contract With America." The interviewer's implicit message is that Obama is Clinton. The Purity Test failed to win support and Bopp has been treated with contempt by some Republicans. For example, Oregon Republican Party Chair Bob Tiernan publicly instructed Bopp to "shut up!" Sources * Conservatives Make a List to Measure Candidates’ Commitment by Jim Rutenberg and Adam Nagourney. The New York Times. November 23, 2009 * Chief Sponsor Defends G.O.P. Litmus Test by Kate Philips. The New York Times. November 26, 2009. * RNC Members Circulating 10-point “purity test” for Candidates Hot Air November 23, 2009 * Purity Test Reignites Tensions in Republican National Committee by Andy Barr. Politico. November 25, 2009. * Republican Litmus Test 2009 by Sandy Price Capitol Hill Blue Niovember 26, 2009 Links * Political Lexicon * conservatism